Sharks 2019-20 Season Preview

Sharks Offseason

The Sharks roster changed a lot as they lost Pavelski and Joonas Donskoi in free agency. Pavelski was a 38 goal scorer last year and could have hit 40 goals if he played all 82 games. He was the captain of the Sharks for four years when he made the decision to leave. His presence will be missed on and off the ice. Donskoi got 37 points last season and was a solid depth forward.

Key Factors

The Sharks season is going to ride on two major factors, injuries, and goaltending. Last season their goaltending faced many problems as neither Jones or Aaron Dell had over a .900 save percentage and both had over a 2.90 goals against average. The other factor for them is injuries. Karlsson missed close to thirty games and many other players missed playing time. If they can stay healthy and Jones can play well, then the Sharks will make a deep run in the playoffs.

Prediction   

The Sharks have a difficult schedule in front of them, but this is a good team that has a lot of chemistry. They can win anywhere from 40 to 50 games. I predict that they will go 46-30-6 which will give them 98 points on the season. This would put them second in the division behind the Vegas Golden Knights. They can finish anywhere from first to fourth in their division depending on how their rivals play and how their goalies play. There are many factors that will decide how well the Sharks do, but I predict they will be the second seed in the division and have to play the Golden Knights in the first round.

The Playoffs

Last time the Sharks played the Golden Knights they won in seven after a controversial call in the third period. I believe the Sharks will win in six games. If everyone is healthy, they have the best defense in the league. Jones will also need to have a bounce-back season for this to happen. I think the Sharks will go on to play the Nashville Predators in the second round. The Predators have gotten better on offense since they signed Matt Duchene. They got worse on defense though when they traded away P.K. Subban. They are an aging team, but they are still talented. If Jones can play well then it will be a goaltending battle between him and Pekka Rinne. However, the Sharks do have a much better defense and I think this will result in them winning the series in seven. I think that they will meet the Dallas Stars in the conference championship. 

Conference Finals

The Stars have gotten a lot better. They lost in the second round to the Blues last year. Their main weakness was scoring, and they fixed that problem by adding Pavelski and Corey Perry. This is a talented team with young players like Miro Heiskanen and Roope Hintz, who are only getting better with time. If Ben Bishop has another Vezina caliber season then I think the Sharks will lose in six. The Stars are a talented team and I do not think the Sharks offense will be able to beat their defense and goaltending.

The Sharks Future

The Sharks are a good team. They have some bright spots in their future and they are a competitive team right now, however they are not a true championship contender. There are teams who are younger and just as good as they are. For this reason, I think they will lose in the conference finals this year.

Matt Jones is a San Jose Sharks contributor for Overtime Heroics. Follow him on Instagram @matt_jones03

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